Ukraine Law No. 4474-IX — VAT exemption for optical fiber and fibre-optic cable imported for defence/security needs

Mechanism

Law No. 4474-IX amends the Tax Code of Ukraine to add a VAT exemption for goods imported for security and defence needs, mirroring the customs-duty exemption enacted the same day under Law No. 4473-IX. Optical fibre and fibre-optic cable used in drone manufacture/repair fall within the exempt category, alongside other components supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and authorised defence-sector entities.

Together, the two laws remove both duty and VAT cost layers from a key input to Ukraine's fibre-optic-guided FPV drone production — a category that has become central to the country's wartime UAV manufacturing base because fibre-optic guidance resists electronic-warfare jamming that defeats RF-controlled drones.

Downstream implications

• Combined with Law No. 4473-IX (duty exemption), removes both the tariff

and VAT cost layers on optical-fibre imports for drone production, compounding the input-cost reduction for Ukraine's domestic UAV manufacturing base.

• Companion to the customs-duty exemption already on the register; the

two should be read together as one legislative package.

Open questions

• Full list of HS codes/product scope covered by the exemption (official

gazette text not fully parsed from this pass — see primary source for complete coverage).

• Duration/sunset: unclear whether the exemption is tied to martial-law

status and would lapse if martial law ends.